Baltimore Orioles second baseman Hanser Alberto, left, throws to first after getting the force-out on Los Angeles Angels’ Andrelton Simmons, right, on a ground ball hit by Albert Pujols in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Griffin Canning reacts after giving up two home runs against the Baltimore Orioles in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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Baltimore Orioles’ Dwight Smith Jr. pats his helmet while rounding third on his two-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Los Angeles Angels second baseman Tommy La Stella dives for a pop up hit by Baltimore Orioles’ Jonathan Villar in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, left, is congratulated by Albert Pujols after hitting a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Baltimore Orioles’ Dwight Smith Jr. follows through on a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Baltimore Orioles’ Stevie Wilkerson follows through on a solo home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Griffin Canning throws against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Baltimore Orioles pitcher John Means delivers against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

BALTIMORE — Griffin Canning’s third big league start was a mixed bag of positives and negatives.

Taking the mound after a 2-hour, 42-minute rain delay, Canning gave up three homers in the Angels’ 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon.

The homers, of course, were the primary negative for Canning. He gave up solo shots to Chris Davis and Stevie Wilkerson in the second and a two-run shot to Dwight Smith Jr. in the third. Canning also walked four.

“I don’t think I was very sharp today,” Canning said. “I don’t expect to have my stuff every single time. It’s something I need to work through. I made some good pitches, but they definitely jumped on my mistakes.”

Catcher Kevan Smith, however, saw positives in the way Canning handled the negatives.

“What’s awesome is whenever he doesn’t have his best stuff or isn’t spotting up where he wants to be, he can still give us a solid five innings,” Smith said. “He’s not getting pushed out in the first, second or third inning.”

Canning actually came up one out shy of finishing five innings, even though he’d allowed four runs after just recording one out in the third inning. The Angels needed Canning to get them as deep as possible because the bullpen had been taxed from Matt Harvey’s four-inning outing the day before.

So Manager Brad Ausmus left Canning on the mound to throw 101 pitches, equaling the most from an Angels pitcher all season. Canning had never thrown 90 pitches in a regular season game as a professional, before Sunday.

Canning hit the 90-pitch mark while striking out No. 3 hitter Trey Mancini in the fifth inning. He then came back and struck out Davis.

“I think he finished strong,” Smith said. “The way he pitched Chris Davis at the end, he needs to ride that momentum.”

Canning struck out six, increasing his total to 19 in his first three big league games, which equaled an Angels record held by Shohei Ohtani and Tim Fortugno.

After three starts, Canning has a 5.65 ERA. He’s struck out 19 and walked six in 14-1/3 innings.

“What I love about him is he’s a competitor,” Smith said. “He’s calm out there. It’s like he’s been there before. That’s a great trait for any guy to have in his first three starts. He’s going to have outings like this. He’s going to have great outings. He just needs to keep learning, to minimize his mistakes and keep giving the team innings and competing.”

He suffered his first big league loss on Sunday because he left a deficit too great for the Angels to overcome on a day they got their first look at Orioles lefty John Means.

A 26-year-old rookie, Means has come out of nowhere to become one of the Orioles pleasant surprises. The former 14th-round pick worked his way into the Baltimore rotation and now has a 2.33 ERA.

The Angels’ only run against Means in six innings was on Mike Trout’s ninth homer of the season.

Otherwise, they had a few potential rallies scuttled by double plays. After having two runners on in the first and second, the Angels did not have multiple runners on for the rest of the game.

Although Means doesn’t have the raw stuff that Canning does, he did what Canning could not. He threw strikes and executed his pitches, as the hitters got themselves out.

“Means is a great example of attacking the strike zone and keeping hitters off balance,” Smith said. “You’re not in the box scared he’s going to overpower you. You’ve got to stay within yourself and not try to hit the ball out of the park. You can’t get too big.”

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